Monthly Archives: July 2011

I have taken some flak down the years for having been a regular reader of the Economist. But far from being another tub-thumping, jingoistic right-wing rag à la Torygraph, it has always provided me with a more balanced international perspective … Continue reading →

“Nomenklatura” referred to the Communist party’s authority to make appointments to key positions throughout the governmental system. —Wikipedia You have to hand it to Burdzeyeview. While often disagreeing with the line she takes, it is always cogently argued and this … Continue reading →

My little blog is no place to rehearse the details of this weekend’s tragedy in and around Oslo that killed 93 innocent people, mostly teenagers, and wounded another 100. Even after Anders Breivik goes on trial for what he did, … Continue reading →

Research for my previous post (Oxter Award) exposed some pretty dubious council fauna in dark corners, especially in and around wur Dear Green Place. The broad range of accusations makes some form of ranking necessary and so I have awarded … Continue reading →

Such has the scale of disconnect between the public and their elected representatives become that it is time to acknowledge those in service of the public who have clearly lost sight of that basic fact with an award. This month’s … Continue reading →

Ever since I overcame my mother’s Blitz-begotten mistrust of the Germans, I have been a Europhile. But sometimes, they really don’t make it easy. Their latest unpalatable tranche of Eurotrash was served up this week by Maria Damanaki in her role … Continue reading →

I had originally intended to simply post the photo above to show how serene and restful the May was yesterday with many of their 45,000 inhabitants out socialising, as they do. With their ‘pufflings’ now grown and departing daily, this … Continue reading →

The other sea-boot dropped today as UK Transport Minister Philip Hammond re-thought draconian plans to cut 18 coastguard stations to 3. The revision restores both Stornoway and Lerwick to the roster, along with Aberdeen and has caused much relief and … Continue reading →